Startup to Last

Here are some takeaways from this week's episode: There are two common reasons for a manager to feel impatient: someone isn't motivated to work hard, or they're working hard but not getting enough done. The first type is best to avoid entirely by hiring people who are intrinsically motivated. If you can trust that they aren't intentionally slacking off, it takes a lot of pressure off your plate as...

Here are some takeaways from this week's conversation: It's easier to optimize interactions with existing customers rather than new customers who are onboarding because with new customers, every change is more likely to mess up your onboarding funnel. Existing customers have more isolated support events. Start by collecting data from the support team on what they're spending their time on. Iterate...

First off, sorry about the terrible audio this week. This is probably related to the fact that Tyler is recording from his apartment instead of his office due to COVID-19. We'll get this figured out before next week. Here are some takeaways from this episode: There are three possible audiences for a startup manifesto: customers, founders, and employees The customer-facing version is very different...

This week we take a break from our normal deep dive topics to talk about current events. Between the coronavirus and the stock market volatility, a lot has been happening that could potentially impact our businesses and lives.

Here are some of the takeaways from this episode: Even if your product is good for a large group of people (all small businesses in this case) it can be helpful to focus on a specific segment rather than "boiling the ocean" because it gets easier to acquire new customers as you become more dominant within the segment. There are different ways to segment your customers (industry, job title, age, lo...

Rick's new business is ramping up, and he's starting to think about how he's going to fund it until it's profitable. He definitely doesn't want to give up any equity at this early stage, so he needs to consider non-dilutive options. Here are some things we cover: There are a few main ways to fund a new business without giving up equity: Consult or work a normal job to make money and funnel that in...

The main theme of our discussion was that it's important to understand the objectives of any meeting. Rick helped Tyler narrow the list of objectives down, and now Tyler needs to (1) consider which objectives are most important to him, (2) consider if some of the objectives are being met in other ways so they can be left out of the meeting, and (3) communicate the objectives to employees prior to...

Here are a few takeaways from this week: Identify what your most important work is, and devote most of your time to that. Rick was spending some of his most productive hours on reading and blogging, neither of which are priorities for his business. If you have things you have to get done (e.g. client work), try to knock that out early in the week so you can focus on your other work without distrac...

Here are some takeaways from this week's episode: Marketing can be broken down into two categories: (1) bringing new people into the top of your funnel and (2) optimizing the conversion rates within your funnel. A lot of technical marketing projects are more about the second than the first. This can be helpful, but there's a ceiling to how effective marketing can be within increasing the top of th...

Acquiring customers will be different for every business, but there are a few themes we discussed that should apply to almost any business: There are two goals when acquiring early customers: 1) Growing your business, and 2) Learning what works and what doesn't. Some growth channels might work for one or the other, but the best approach is to do both at the same time. Identify what type of person...

It's impossible to cover the entirety of this topic in one episode, but there were some key takeaways that should apply to pretty much any startup: A financial model is something that takes inputs (e.g. historic data and assumptions about the future) and gives outputs (e.g. how much money might you make this year). It can be as simple as some notes on a piece of paper, or it can be much more compl...

We considered having this conversation privately, but since almost every business should have a conversation like this, we decided to record it in the hopes that the discussion is helpful for others. As expected, this ended up being a bigger topic than we could cover in a single episode, but we did start narrowing down on some ideas and constraints around the idea of starting up to last: Tradition...

Takeaways from our conversation: Starting a new job is stressful, and one of the main goals should be to make the new employee feel safe. One way to do this is to set expectations are that (a) small enough to be achieved over a short time period and (b) not related to actual job performance at first. In the case of LACRM, expectations will be set around trust. The goal of the first month is for th...

This week, we wanted to take some time to reflect on what happened in 2019 and set goals for 2020. We created a series of questions that Rick and Tyler both had to answer. Here are the answers... What happened in 2019? In our personal lives Rick: Took 7-8 months of to figure out who he is and what his goals are, especially with his new marriage. Tyler: Figured out a sustainable diet In our profess...

Takeaways from our conversation: In the early days, a founder can easily offer great customer service just because they're an expert on the topic and are empowered to solve every problem. Rick doesn't need to worry about this at first. For a low ARPU (average revenue per user) product, it's best to think of support reps as "coaches" so they can be more proactive and replace other functions such as...

In this episode, Tyler gets Rick’s advice on how to think about redesigning the Less Annoying CRM marketing website. Here are some of the takeaways: There are different types of website redesigns, including: AB testing (iterating pages on the site based on performance). Style update (updating the CSS, or look and feel based on a new brand style guide). Restructuring the site (changing the site nav...

In this episode as part of some research for his next book, Rick interviews Tyler about his experience with emotions in the Less Annoying CRM workplace. Here are some of the takeaways: There are frameworks out there for emotional intelligence, self-regulation, but there isn’t much stuff out there about how emotions impact company culture, team performance, and leadership. There aren’t a ton of CEO...

In this episode, Tyler seeks Rick’s advice on how to plan the Less Annoying CRM product roadmap for the upcoming year. Here are some of the takeaways: Product roadmap planning is easier when you are able to align to clear company goals and constraints. In this context: Goals = what you really want to accomplish during a time frame. E.g.: “Increase signups from word of mouth” Constraints = the thin...

In this episode, Rick seeks Tyler’s advice on how to approach consulting on the side to fund LegUp Ventures . Here are some of the takeaways: If you need the money, you’ve got to consult or get a job Ain’t no way around it Consulting can be preferable as you have way more flexibility It's way easier to bootstrap with consulting as your source of money versus a full time job You hourly rate as a co...

In this episode, we discuss how to think about positioning, packaging, and pricing a second product when you have an existing customer base. Here are some of the takeaways: Be clear about the primary reason you want to add a second product. This will impact how you package and price the product.  Is this the right thing for the business and for your customers? Or is this about you and what makes y...

In this episode, we discuss how to identify, invite and recruit beta users for your product. Rick uses one of his ventures as an example, and Tyler helps him work through structuring a beta program for his software-enabled service idea. While we worked through a specific situation, the general concept applies often. Here’s the framework that emerged: Decide if you are ready for a beta program.  He...

This episode ended up being a brainstorming exercise on how Tyler can increase the acceptance rate of his job offers at Less Annoying CRM .  Takeaways include: Survey candidates after they either accept or reject to learn more When someone says no, ask why they're saying no.  That might lead to some really quick problems you could solve. Look at this from two lenses: Controllable rejections - ther...

This episode ended up being a brainstorming exercise on how Rick can set high-confidence MVP requirements for his ventures at LegUp . We identified several approaches to scoping an initial MVP: The productized service approach. This is where you start with a service business and iterate your service into a product with automation tools and software.  The skateboard approach. This is where you star...

This episode ended up being a brainstorming exercise on how Tyler can increase usage of  Less Annoying CRM ’s customer referral program. Tyler may focus in the following areas:  Trying to increase usage of the existing referral program by driving more awareness Trying to capture more information from signups to determine if they were referred Trying to repackage the referral program to make it mor...

In this episode, we discuss how to reset expectations with stakeholders when things change. Rick shares a challenge he is facing at one of his companies. While we worked through a specific situation, the general concept applies often. Here’s the general framework that emerged: Clarify what needs to change and why Frame the problem(s) thoughtfully Identify the stakeholders and where do they stand I...